Prejudiced Scientist meets Vedic Nemesis

[Guest guest]

The prejudice of a scientist meets its nemesis

By M. Jayaraman

 

In an international conference held recently, a senior scientist

(name withheld) from a premier scientific institution of our country

expressed her views on `sun spots in ancient Indian scriptures'.

 

She stated that though there were vague references to sun spots in

ancient Indian lore, they were never explicitly mentioned for fear of

persecution. She surmised: "How could the Sun God, a deity of high

order in the Hindu pantheon, be stated to have blemishes? Any such

bold pronouncement would have been considered blasphemous. Indian

tradition, like any other ancient tradition of the world, was

dogmatic. Questions against established ideas were seldom allowed."

Carrying on in the same vein, she concluded her soliloquy. The

scholarly and enlightened audience contested her views immediately

after. Anyhow, she stuck to her view that Indian tradition is

dogmatic.

 

The sad lesson of the episode is this: Even after the passage of more

than half a century of political independence, most of the so-called

intellectuals of our country, scientists not excluded, find it

difficult to unyoke their minds from the thought pattern originated

or popularised by many an uncomprehending, inexpert westerner of the

British era. They seem to be in total darkness about the high degree

of evolution of Bharatiya scientific tradition through the millennia.

 

Glorious tradition of scientific enquiry in Bharat

 

Rishis of yore have bequeathed to us a vast amount of knowledge, a

result of systematic scientific enquiry, in the form of the Vedas.

Apart from the eternal ideals we learn from the Vedas, the method of

enquiry we find exemplified in them reflects upon the highly evolved

bauddhika parampara (intellectual tradition) that existed in our

country. Our ancients were well aware of the fact that scientific

evolution is possible only if there were questions. Our tradition

never allowed (a student's or researcher's) thought processes to

stagnate and become dogmatic. From the very dawn of the Rishi era the

questioning tendency was accorded high respect. That is why Bharatiya

culture, tradition, lifestyle and philosophy are "puraa api navam"

(very much new, though ancient). This is the sanatana-tva (eternal

nature) of our Dharma.

 

The traditional knowledge base

 

The Upanishads are also known as the Vedanta i.e., Vedanam! (The

essence or cream of the entire Vedic lore). In our philosophical

tradition, the Upanishads are the embodiment of the highest

knowledge. Unlike the evolution of modern scientific tradition,

wherein, every earlier view pertaining to any given phenomenon

becomes obsolete—and is trashed—with the advent of newer ideas, the

principles enshrined in the Upanishads became the unshakeable

foundation on which the superstructure of all later philosophical

contemplations stood strong. Explaining the profound influence of the

Upanishads on the psyche of the Bharatiya, Swami Vivekananda says, "…

there is not one full grown ideal that cannot be traced back to the

same source—the Upanishads" (Complete Works, Vol. 3, pp 230-231).

Maurice Bloomfield, the famed author of The Vedic Concordance, while

agreeing with the above, actually goes one step ahead to

state, "There is no important form of Hindu thought, heterodox

Buddhism included, which is not rooted in the Upanishads" (The

Religion Of The Vedas, p. 51).

 

The Upanishads have been accorded a place of highest honour by the

scholars of both the West and East. Upanishads have influenced the

intellectuals of the West, like the German thinker Arthur

Schopenhauer who states, "It (the Upanishads) has been the solace of

my life and it will be the solace of my death" (Upanishad, Special

Number of Kalyan p. 104).

 

Yama-Nachiketa dialogue in the Kathopanishad gives us a glimpse of

the great tradition of questioning in ancient Bharat. When Nachiketa

questions Yama about the nature of the atman (the soul), Lord Yama

wants to verify the sincerity and seriousness of the questioner.

 

Upanishads and the questioning mind

 

Upanishads are the basis of the Indian philosophical traditions, and

dogmatism was never a part of this tradition. The Upanishads value

the questioner for his fearlessness and satya-nishta (commitment to

truth).

 

Question is supreme, not the questioner

 

The famous Yama-Nachiketa dialogue in the Kathopanishad gives us a

glimpse of the great tradition of questioning in ancient Bharat. When

Nachiketa questions Yama about the nature of the atman (the soul),

Lord Yama wants to verify the sincerity and seriousness of the

questioner. So, he tempts Nachiketa with the highest gift of material

comfort instead of directly giving him the answer to the query. But

Nachiketa rejects the offer outright. He states: "I prefer to have

the same boon (knowledge about the nature of the atman) that I have

asked for earlier)" (Kathopanishad 1.1.27).

 

Yama, the great spiritual master is stunned by the firm resolve of

the young lad and lavishes praise on Nachiketa: "Oh! Nachiketa, your

mind is firmly established in truth. May we have questioners like

thee!". [Kathopanishad 1.2.9].

 

Q&A marked by perseverance

 

Elsewhere, in the Chandogya Upanishad, we have an interesting and

beautiful dialogue between a father and son. The father welcomes his

son returning home after 12 years of gurukula vaasa. Desiring to

ascertain the level of scholarship of his son, he enquires, have you

questioned your teachers about that thing (the Ultimate Truth) by

which the unheard becomes heard, the unthought thought and the

unexperienced experienced?" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.1.3). When the

answer from his son was not in the affirmative, the father starts the

exposition of the Ultimate Reality. This is the subject matter of the

6th chapter of Chandogya Upanishad which is imbedded with statements

of sublime truths like You are That. The father is Uddaalaka and the

son, Shvetaketu. In the course of explaining the aadesha (the lesson

or subject matter i.e., the Brahman), Uddaalaka stands tall as an

epitome of a teacher, tireless and infinitely patient in answering

Shvetaketu's repeated requests for explanations: Oh Lord! Explain

this concept once again." [Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.4]. Shvetaketu

asks this very question nine times. The father adopts various methods

including giving experiments for self-verifiction and using a host of

analogies to convince the questioner, in this case his son.

 

A conducive atmoshpere for questioning

 

There is an instance in the Prashnopanishad that drives home the

point that questioning was considered a virtue. The very nomenclature

of the Upanishad is eminently self- evident . It is the "Upanishad of

Questions". Six highly qualified saadhakas (initiates) come to

Maharshi Pippalada. They submit their queries, resulting out of

extensive rumination. The Guru, invitingly says: "Ask as many

questions as you desire. I will try to tell all those that I know".

(Prashnopanishad 1.2). How characteristic !

 

Six seekers are seated in all reverence before the Guru Pippalaada.

It is the turn of Ashwalayana (one among the six). This jijnasu

(seeker) puts forth a series of penetrating questions about praana

tattva in a single breath.

 

What is the source of praana? How does He enter this physical frame

of ours? How does He get established in the body by dividing himself?

How does He depart from this body?… The guru Pippalaada, is gladdened

and goes ahead to bestow on him the highest possible encomium : Your

questions are simply extraordinary. I hold thee as the best among the

seekers of Truth." (Prashnopanishad 3.2).Though there is no intention

to draw parallels and compare our traditions with the others of the

world, here is a point to ponder. Did any teacher of the ancient

world other than Bharatiya Rishis possess the generosity and

broadmindedness to express his appreciation of the questioner in such

openness and in such an unreserved manner? We quite often encounter

the fate that befell many a Socrates and many a Galileo. The fact

that these words of Rishi Pippalaada were uttered 5,000 years ago

shows that Bharat was intellectually highly evolved even in the years

of infancy of other civilizations. Would any thinker in his/her

senses try to dub the Rishi-parampara dogmatic?

 

Intellectual honesty

 

Yet another instance. Sukesha, the sixth seeker, rather than spelling

out his question directly, first relates its background. "A seeker of

Truth, belonging to the kshatriya Vamsha Hiranyanaabha, approached

me. He asked me to enlighten him about the Atman with 16 aspects. I

replied `Oh! young man, I do not know the tattva about which you are

asking'. But he was not ready to believe that I would be unable to

answer. He stood there in utter disbelief. I then said, `I really do

not know the tattva. Had I known it then why would I not tell you?

Further, that person, who, knows but suppresses it shall be reduced

to naught. Knowing this, how can I utter a lie?' Hearing this from me

he departed without uttering a word", (Prashnopanishad 6.1). These

words of Sukesha are worth noting. Can anyone desist from admiring

the intellectual honesty of Sukesha?

 

Conclusion

 

Prejudice expressed in public, as what transpired in the

international conference mentioned at the beginning, is a blessing in

disguise in a way. It forms an apt occasion to enunciate the real

nature of our tradition. Truth, when expressed in juxtaposition with

prejudice, goes a long way in imbibing a uncorrupt view by the

unsuspecting mind.

 

(The author is a Vedic research scholar and can be contacted at 15/8,

Ramakrishna Street, Moorthy Nagar, Ullagaram, Chennai-600091, Tamil

Nadu, Email: mjayaraman)